Rose's Inn
by AuntJackie
Summary: After a flat tire leaves them stranded in a rural motel in the middle of nowhere, will Randy and John make it out with their friendship intact, a new love, or will they make it out at all? Randy/John & Cody/Ted
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Old story I wrote with one of my favorite couples, Centon! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own no person, character or storyline from WWE! **

The rain was coming down so hard on the rooftop and windows of the car that it sounded like someone was pounding on its surface. It was driving him crazy, and the tossing and turning of the man in the back seat was driving him even crazier.

"Randy, would you please stop? I can't concentrate on driving in this storm with you tossing around back there. I know the rain is really strong, but please try to sleep."

Randy sat up in the backseat of their rented Range Rover and looked at his best friend's reflection in the rear view mirror.

"I'm sorry, John. I'm not doing it on purpose. I just can't sleep. You know the rain annoys me."

John rolled his eyes and looked back at his friend. He had known Randy for over ten years now and considered him his best friend, but he had to admit, Randy was the most annoying person he knew.

"Everything annoys you, Ran." An icy glare was his only response from the backseat.

John concentrated on driving through the blinding rain as carefully as he could but could not help wanting to speed up and reach their next destination city. Working for the WWE had its benefits and was his dream but the constant travel was exhausting. Flying from city to city, not spending enough time at home and all night drives were a nightmare. Especially when the best friend you bought along for company decides to be in his in-ring persona. Randy was not as mean and anti-social as his WWE character but tonight he apparently decided to be .

John and Randy did not get along in WWE world but in real life, they had been best friends for the entirety of their career. Being in such close quarters, though for 50 weeks out of a year led to its fair share of arguments, disagreements and many glares. When it came down to it, though, nothing ever really shook their friendship.

"Why don't you read a book or listen to music?"

Randy yawned and nodded. "No, I think I'll take another shot at that nap. Let me know when you want to switch and I'll drive."

John nodded but no sooner than the two friends had settled back into silence that a loud bang shot out under the car.

"What the hell was that?" asked an alarmed Randy, jumping up in his seat as John frantically tried to swerve the car over to the side of the road.

John took a deep breath and looked up at Randy with wide eyes."Holy shit! Damn car blew a tire!" He slammed his fist against the steering wheel. "We could have flipped over!"

Randy tried to slow his racing heartbeat down and jumped over to the passenger seat.

"Calm down. We're fine; we didn't. Just calm down and let's call AAA or someone."

John nodded and dug his phone out of his pocket. He snorted when he looked at the screen and held it up. "No service."

Randy reached into the back seat to pull his phone out of his backpack. "That's what you get for buying a shitty phone, dude." He smirked and looked at the phone now in his hand, the smirk quickly turning into a frown. "Never mind."

John reached over and snatched the phone out of Randy's hand. "Oh, so his highness' $900 phone doesn't have service either, huh."

Randy glared as he grabbed the phone back. "Shut up. How the hell are we gonna get out of here?"

John turned around and looked towards the back. "I guess we're gonna have to suck it up and go outside to change this damn tire. The rental company had to put in a spare."

Randy nodded and smiled. "Alright John-John, then go for it. I'll wait right here."

John laughed. "No way, asshole. You will go out there and help me or else we both just sit here."

Randy sighed deeply and nodded. The men opened their car doors immediately getting soaked to the bone. The rain was so loud they had to scream to hear each others voices as John pulled open the trunk.

"There's no tire in here!" he yelled as Randy looked on."I see that! What do we do now?"

John motioned moving back in the car and the two friends ran back into their seats.

"Damn! We're literally stuck here now and we'll probably die of pneumonia." mumbled Randy.

"Don't be so dramatic. I think we could drive on this flat for a bit longer as long as we go very slowly. We have no choice." John sighed, turned the car on and began a slow crawl on the side of the road. He left his hazard lights on in the hopes someone driving by would be able to see them and stop to help.

After 15 minutes of silence Randy jerked up."I see a light. Is that a hotel?"

"Yeah, looks like. Just in time, too, because this is as far as we can go. Hopefully their phones are still up and running so we can call someone to let them now what happened. We'll bunk there for the night. Grab your bag," said John turning off the car and putting the keys in his pocket.

The two men quickly grabbed their bags from the back and ran the few feet in the rain from the car to the hotel. They stood in front of the shabby looking door and read the sign.

**"Rose's Inn"**

"Wow, this place looks really crappy, John," said Randy with a frown.

"Crappy or not this is as far as we can go for tonight. So, learn to live with it, Ran." replied John. He pushed open the door to the Inn and took a deep breath. Inside, the Inn looked just as bad as it looked from the outside. The floor was covered in a tattered, dirty tan carpet and the wall was covered with tacky brown art work with what appeared to be coffee stains. In the corner sat brown sofas and chairs with giant rips in the seat and more stains.

"Holy crap! Look at this place. I think we should just stay in the car," said Randy, looking around from the doorway.

"Cut it out. We can't stay in a car in the middle of the road. At least we have shelter here no matter how crappy it is." John grabbed Randy's arm and pulled him in letting the door slam behind him.

He walked to the check in desk and looked around for a sign of someone who worked there. He rang the bell twice and was about to yell out when a small, elderly lady walked out from a room behind the desk.

"Good evening gentlemen. My name is Rose. Welcome to my Inn. How may I help you all this rainy evening?"

"Hello, Ma'am. My name is John and this is my friend, Randy." John smiled politely and discretely poked Randy, who then also smiled tightly at Rose.

"Our car broke down a couple of feet back and we were wondering if you could rent us rooms for the night. I really need to contact our boss to let him know where we are. Hopefully they can send us a replacement car."

Rose smiled sweetly and nodded her gray head.

"No problem. You poor dears are going to catch your death if you don't change soon. I have rooms available and thankfully our phones are working." She turned to get the keys from a rack hanging behind the desk.

"I am not paying more than $10 for a room here." whispered Randy. John poked him in the ribs before saying, "Zip it, Randy. You sound like a snob."

Rose turned and looked at Randy. "So, what are you two boys doing on the road in this weather? And what kind of boss would send you out in this?"

He raised his eyebrows and smiled. "We're wrestlers with a company called WWE. We put on shows in different cities. Since we were staying in Tennessee for our next show we figured we'd drive but we didn't expect this storm."

Rose nodded. "I see. Come, let me show you upstairs."

The men grabbed their bags and walked up the creaky staircase behind Rose. They continued their climb up the stairs and when they reached the 5th floor Rose handed them each a key and wished them a quick good night. She turned away quickly and disappeared down the stairs.

"Wow, the old bird can fly. I wonder why she's so anxious to get away from us." mumbled John.

"It doesn't matter. I'm going into my room to get rid of these wet clothes. You should call Vince. He likes you way more than me." said Randy walking into his room. He waved and smiled at John before closing the door in his face.

John flipped him off and unlocked his door. He quickly stripped off his wet clothes and put on a dry pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He threw his backpack on the armchair that sat in the corner of the room and flopped down on the surprisingly clean bed. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the phone and dialed Vince McMahon's phone number and let out a sigh of relief when he got the voice mail. After rattling off a quick message on his and Randy's whereabouts, he settled down on the bed and decided to watch some TV.

Next door, Randy stood in the middle of his room and looked all around. Dark shadows seemed to lurk in every corner and he could swear he heard whispering. Every hair on his body was standing straight up and when he took off his jacket he was surprised to see goose bumps on both arms. He shook his head and rubbed his arms.

"What the hell is wrong with me? I need a shower and a bed." He mumbled.

He threw his overnight bag on the bed and rummaged around until he found clean underwear and some sweats to wear to bed. He tucked the clothes under his arm and walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. In seconds the bathroom was full of steam. Randy stepped under the water and let it fall over his body. He felt his muscles start to relax and the tension leave his body. After a couple of minutes he stepped out and dried himself off. He wrapped the towel over his lower body and walked over to the sink to brush his teeth. As he looked up at the steam covered mirror he gasped when he saw "Get Out" written on it.

"What the hell?"

He ran out of the bathroom sure he would find John laughing hysterically on the bed at his joke, but the room was as empty as he'd left it. He grabbed his underwear and pajamas and got dressed in record time. He ran out of the room and banged loudly on John's door.

"John! Open the door! Let me in!" He was pounding so hard on the door that he fell into John when he opened the door.

"What is it, Ran?"

Randy ran into John's room and locked the door behind him. He pushed John into the center of the room away from the door and sat down on his bed.

"What the hell is wrong with you? What did you do in my room?" He asked breathlessly.

John frowned and looked at his normally calm friend. He knew Randy was tough as nails and something really serious had to have happened to freak him out this bad. He sat beside him on the bed and put his arm around his shoulder.

"Randy, calm down. Just relax, take a deep breath and tell me what happened because I have no idea what you're talking about."

"OK. I was taking a shower and you know how the bathroom gets all steamy because of the hot water and the mirror starts getting all sweaty."

Randy waited for John's nod before continuing.

"So, I get out of the shower and I look at the mirror and someone wrote "Get Out" on it! I thought it was you playing one of your dumb ass jokes on me, but you weren't there. So, I got dressed and ran out."

John frowned and stood up."Randy, maybe you just need some sleep." He held up his hands in mock surrender when he saw Randy about to protest. "All right, all right. Come on. Let's go to your room. Show me."

Randy got up and led John over to his bedroom. The two men walked cautiously through the bedroom and into the adjoined bathroom and looked at the mirror.

"Hey, it's gone." Said Randy. He looked at John who had an unconvinced look on his face. The two friends were standing like statues in front of Randy's bathroom mirror.

"Um, Ran, there's nothing on the mirror. The rest of the room is still steamy, though, so I believe you just showered."

John shrugged and looked at Randy who was still staring at the mirror. "But, you know, maybe I'm wrong. If you really think you saw some writing on the mirror then I believe you, dude. I'm on your side. You know that. Maybe it was on there before you got in the shower and just didn't notice."

Randy nodded and walked out of the bathroom taking a seat on the bed. "Yeah, you're probably right. I just need some sleep. This place is so creepy that it has me on edge." He laughed and shook his head. "Thanks for checking with me. You must think I'm crazy."

John nodded put his arm around Randy's shoulder. "I do, but I've always thought that!"

He laughed and pulled his friend into a tight hug and the two friends remained in the embrace for a few moments until Randy suddenly pulled away and frowned.

John looked at him and noticed his entire body stiffened up. He smiled. "Well, I think I can go now, right? The faster we fall asleep, the faster we wake up and get the hell out of this place."

Randy smiled slightly and nodded. He got up off the bed and opened his bedroom door. "Definitely."

Once in his room, John laid back down and tried to concentrate on the show he was watching when Randy banged on his door. It didn't take a genius to see their hug had shook Randy up.

Randy and his wife, Sam, had been divorced for over a year now and ever since then Randy was very guarded with showing his feelings to anyone but his daughter. Before the divorce he had been more open with his emotions, but now it seemed he jumped when someone touched him. Over the past couple of months, though, he had grown more distant around John. It was hard for him to understand. Randy never spoke about the reason for the breakup of his marriage. After his own marriage failing a little over 2 years ago, he assumed Randy would want to commiserate with him, but it never happened.

John figured if he knew why that marriage, which had seemed so perfect, had broken up, it would solve the mystery of Randy's withdrawal.

John knew deep in his heart that his feelings for Randy had been slowly developing over the years into more than just friendship. Randy's smile should not affect him the way it did. He missed the times when they were closer. The way things were going between them now scared him. It was obvious Randy was dealing with things and he wasn't sharing them with him. It was making him pull away instead. John shook his head and focused on the TV. Maybe he should forget the fairytale fantasy of a life with Randy that constantly floated through his head. He sighed loudly and turned his attention to the characters on the screen.

Over in Randy's room things were quiet and very bright. He had turned on ever lamp in the room and checked every corner and hidden space, expecting to find a lurking figure hiding there. Once he assured himself he was alone, he lay down. He looked up at the ceiling and stated tracing the cracks with his eyes. He felt his body start to relax and reached up to touch his shoulder; the shoulder John had touched. He could still feel the warmth from John's arms around his shoulders. Part of him wished he didn't feel it or that he had let John hug him as long as he did. Lately he was unsure of himself around John. He avoided situations where they would be alone or have to touch in any way. Yet, at the same time, he longed for them. He knew why his marriage to Sam had ended. He knew John had everything to do with it. He also knew, though, that no one could ever know. Especially John.

**A/N: Review, please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews and alerts, everyone! Makes me so happy! Here's the next chapter.**

The clock was now blinking 2:11 am over and over and John was not sleeping. He was staring out the window. The trees outside blew violently in the wind and the rain was still coming down hard.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and walked to the wall connected to Randy's room. He could hear the faint sound of the TV on and decided Randy must still be awake. He walked out the room and to Randy's room where he knocked on the door. The door opened a few seconds later and Randy stared at him with wide blue eyes.

"Hey. I thought you'd be asleep by now. What's wrong?" He asked.

"I can't sleep. I wanted to work on some designs for my cars but I left my laptop in the car. Would you come with me to get it?"

Randy frowned and looked towards the window.

"John-John, I know you love your laptop, but try to make an exception tonight. It's pouring out there and you want us to walk to the car."

John shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "Fine, forget it. I'll go by myself. Go back to bed."

He turned to walk away and felt Randy grab his arm.

"Stop the damn guilt trip. I'll go with you." He turned back into the room and dug through his bag for two rain jackets and two pairs of sneakers. He sat on the bed and put them on and tossed John the other set.

"Were you planning on walking down the street barefoot and with no jacket?"

John smiled and shrugged. He put on the sneakers and slid the jacket on taking a deep breath smelling Randy's cologne still on them.

"Let's go."

The two friends walked out of Randy's room and down the quiet hall. While walking down the stairs Randy suddenly stopped and turned to look behind him.

"Do you hear that?"

John turned and looked around. All he saw was an empty hallway and a sign that said 3rd floor. "Hear what?"

Randy frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "Never mind."

They turned and began to walk down the remaining flights of stairs. Once again on the second floor Randy stopped. "OK, I hear something! I'm not crazy, but you may be deaf if you don't hear it." He turned and walked towards the bedrooms on the floor.

"Randy, there's nothing there. Let's just go get my computer." John grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the doors. They turned around and practically bumped into a dark-haired little boy of no more than 6 years old.

Randy and John stared at each other and then at the child who was staring back at them intently. John nudged Randy in the hip and pushed him towards the boy. "You're a Dad. You talk to him."

Randy smiled and slowly approached the little boy. He bent down to look him in the eye. "Hey, kiddo. What are you doing wandering around at 2:00 in the morning?"

The little boy smiled and shrugged. He sat on the floor and continued to stare at John and Randy. Randy had to smile back. The little boy was dressed in dinosaur pajamas and had the most intense green eyes. He sat down Indian style in front of him.

John involuntarily smiled at this action.

"What's your name? I'm Randy and he's John."

The boy smiled. He reached out to Randy's arms and started to trace his tattoos. "My name is Angel. I'm not sleepy. Why do you have pictures on your arms?"

Randy looked down at his arms and smiled. "I guess I like them. I'm not sleepy, either. Where are your parents?"

Angel looked at the ceiling. He pointed to it. "They're in heaven. I live here with my grandma."

Randy looked at John and mumbled a curse. He felt guilty for bringing it up now. "I'm sorry, Angel. Where's your grandma?"

Angel shrugged his shoulders and stood up in one quick motion. He walked over to John and pointed at him. He looked at Randy who had stood up as well.

"You love him."

The men stared at each other with shocked expressions unsure of what to say or do. Finally, Randy smiled and slowly nodded. "Yes, I do. John is my best friend and like a brother to me. I do love him."

Angel ran to Randy, grabbed his hands and squeezed. "Then, go away! This place is bad. Really bad. Bad things happen. You have to leave."

Randy shook his head and bent down to calm Angel. The boy pulled Randy into a tight hug and refused to let go. Randy picked him up and began to rock him.

"Angel, it's OK. Everything is OK." He rubbed the little boy's back and stared at John, who was staring back in shock.

Randy continued to soothe the boy when suddenly Rose appeared in the corridor. Her eyes widened furiously at the sight of Angel in Randy's arms.

"Angel, my child! Why are you wandering around and bothering our guests?" She moved quickly down the hall and yanked Angel away from Randy.

"I told them the truth, Grandma. This place is bad. They're nice. I don't want them to die like momma and daddy."

Rose stared at the boy and pulled his arm roughly, making Angel cry out in pain. "How dare you child! No more lies or I'll beat you senseless!"

Randy and John watched the scene before them unsure of what to do. Upon hearing Rose's threat, though, they could take no more.

"No way, lady. You are not going to hurt this child," said John sternly.

"Sometimes a child needs a different kind of discipline. You boys would not understand, so don't interfere and tell me what to do."

Randy smirked and stared at her. "Wrong, lady. I completely understand disciplining a child. I happen to be a father. Beating a child does not count as discipline. It's called abuse and last time I checked there was a little thing called a law that forbids it. I'll be more than happy to call the police over here so they can explain it to you."

Rose stared at them with a look of loathing but Randy's glare could not be matched. The sweet demeanor from Rose earlier in the evening was gone. She took Angel by the hand and dragged him away.

"Remember what I said!" Randy called after them.

"Wow, that was weird." John sighed deeply and shook his head.

"Tell me about it. That Rose lady is not a sweet little old bird like we thought. We gotta keep an eye on her and that little boy." Randy frowned and looked at John. "Weren't we gonna do something?"

John laughed and nodded. "Get my computer. I don't really want it anymore, though. I just want to get out of here. That little boy scared the crap out of me. What if he's right about this place? We agree that it's creepy, but what if it's downright evil?"

Randy shook his head and opened his mouth to answer but a loud scream echoed throughout the entire hotel stopped him. He flinched, a frown creasing his forehead. "What the hell was that?"

"Honey, would you please shut the hell up!" yelled a voice from downstairs.

"Oh God. I completely forgot about them." John said, shaking his head

"I'm trying to get some service here, babe!" yelled a second voice.

"Cody, this is a hotel! People are sleeping." responded the first voice.

"Too bad! I'm tired and I want to sleep, too. But first, we need some service here!" bellowed the second voice.

On the second floor, Randy and John looked at each other and smiled.

"We better get down there. That Rose lady won't hesitate to kick us all out of this place after what just happened." said Randy as he headed for the stairs leading to the hotel lobby.

The sound of their footsteps made the two men who had been hollering look up.

"See, I knew I would get someone down here!" said the second voice who they clearly recognized to belong to one of their closest friends and co-worker, Cody Rhodes. He smiled widely and jumped over to Randy. The two men embraced while John walked over to the other man, who was yet another friend and co-worker, Ted DiBiase. He was shaking his head and standing patiently next to the hotel desk.

"I tried to get him to shut up, John. He's so damn annoying. Just started yelling..."

John laughed and clapped Ted on the back. "That's Cody. Annoying as shit without an ounce of patience. But you love him. We all do."

Ted laughed and nodded his head as Cody strolled over followed by Randy. Everyone exchanged hellos and talked for a few moments before Rose came into the room. The four men immediately stopped talking.

"Well, I see we have more guests. My name is Rose." she smiled tightly as she pulled out the sign-in book. Randy immediately began to glare at her, which did not go unnoticed by Ted and Cody.

Ted cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the silence and stepped forward. "Good evening, ma'am. We were wondering if you had a room to spare for the night. Our friends here called us after their car trouble and told us they took refuge in your lovely establishment. We were worried their car wouldn't get fixed in time so we came as their back-up for the morning."

Randy and John looked at each other and smiled at Ted's words. Ted had a way of charming anyone but it would be nice to see if his charm worked on Rose.

Surprisingly, Rose smiled. She turned to the wall behind her and pulled out two sets of keys. "It's no problem at all, boys. I'll put you on the same floor as your friends. Just sign your names here and here are your room keys."

Ted nodded and pushed one set of keys back. "Thank you very much, ma'am. We'll only need one room, though." He bent forward and signed the registrar but he did catch the widening of Ivy's eyes at his statement.

"Oh, sure then." she stammered.

Cody smirked and stepped forward. "That's right. One room only because what you're thinking is true! This handsome southern gentleman is my..."

Randy pulled Cody away before he could finish his sentence. "Shut it. She gets it. Don't be rude."

Cody frowned. "Me be rude? You're standing back here going all "Psycho-Randy" and giving her the meanest glare ever."

"Something happened earlier. I don't wanna talk about it. I just want to get this night over with and get to the next city."

Cody frowned and shrugged. He saw Ted pick up the room key from the desk and say good night to Rose, who immediately ran back into her office and slammed the door.

"Must you be so obnoxious to everyone, dear?" Ted put an arm around Cody's shoulder and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Who's being obnoxious? Me?" replied Cody with a smile, as he turned over in Ted's arms.

The pair immediately began to kiss until John and Randy cleared their throats.

"All right, enough of that. Take that to your bedroom." said John pulling Ted towards the stairs.

Cody pouted behind as he grabbed his fallen bag from the floor. He looked at Randy who was smirking at the situation.

"Ugh, your boyfriend is the real annoying one. Always cutting in mine and Teddy's fun."

He started to follow John and Ted up the stairs but was yanked back by a tattooed arm. He looked back at Randy's frowning face.

"My boyfriend? That's not funny, Cody. Don't joke like that."

Cody raised an eyebrow and pried his arm from Randy's grip. "First of all, ouch. Second of all, it was just a joke so calm down." He rubbed his arm through his jacket and shook his head. "What's the matter with you?"

Randy just stared at Cody before finally smiling. "Nothing, I'm tired. Let's go."

He turned and began walking up the stairs while Cody slowly followed, with a shake of his head.

By the time everyone was settled in their rooms it was almost 3:00 am. Randy has just settled into bed intending to get at least a couple hours of sleep when there was a soft knock on his door. He groaned and put the pillow over his head. The knocking continued incessantly. He finally lifted his head and groaned.

"Go away! I will kill whoever is out there! I have no heart at this hour!"

"Open the door, Ran. You know I won't leave."

"No!"

The knocking on the door turned into pounding. Randy furiously threw the covers off his body and stalked to the door, throwing it open to find a smiling Cody standing in front if it.

"I will hurt you, Cody."

Cody pushed Randy aside and walked into his bedroom. He jumped on the bed and patted the side next to him. "You would never. Come sit with me. I want to have a little talk."

Randy stared in disbelief. "I want to sleep, Cody, not talk."

Cody shrugged. "Too bad." He smiled and patted the bed again.

Randy sighed and walked over to the bed. He knew Cody would not leave. It was easier to indulge him than fight him. "Fine. What is it?"

Cody stared at Randy and sighed. "Randy, I love you. You know that, right? I love you just like I love Dustin. You two are my brothers."

Randy frowned and sat next to Cody. "What's wrong, Codes?"

Cody smiled. "You tell me.

"I don't know, Cody! I want to sleep! You're the one in here trying to talk to me about God knows what!"

Cody frowned. This was not going to be an easy task but it had to be done. "One word. John."

Randy quickly stood and moved away from the bed. "What about him?"

"There seems to be, for some time now, some tension between the two of you. I don't understand it and I'm not even sure if you realize what you're doing."

Cody stopped speaking and looked at Randy to gauge how he was taking the conversation so far. If pushed too fast he knew Randy would explode and that was the last thing he wanted. When he saw Randy was standing quietly by the window, he figured it was safe to continue.

"I've noticed some things between the two of you. He walks into a room and you walk out of it. He sits next to you and you move over. If he even tries to touch you, you move away from him like he has the plague or something. It all seems to have started when you told us you and Sam were getting a divorce."

Randy held up his hand and Cody knew he was done talking.

"Enough. I've heard what you had to say and I have no idea what you're talking about. John is my best friend and has been for almost 10 years. Nothing has changed. For God's sake, if I didn't want to be around him, would we have driven here together?"

Cody nodded. "OK, you're right. If you say nothing has changed, then it hasn't." He got up off the bed and walked towards the door, slowly opening it. Before exiting the room he turned back to Randy, who had slumped on the wall.

"Ran, you remember when I told you I was gay? I was so scared. I thought I would be losing one of my best friends because you would be repulsed by me. What did you tell me?"

Randy smiled. "That I didn't care. You're still Cody. Nothing else matters."

"You remember when I told you how I felt about Teddy? I didn't know how to tell him about my feelings. You were there for me then, too."

Randy nodded. Cody smiled and walked over to envelop him in a hug. "Let me be there for you. I'm here if you want to talk about anything."

Cody felt Randy's nod on his shoulder. He smiled at him one last time before walking out and shutting the door, leaving Randy with his thoughts.

**A/N: Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Update time!**

Randy sat slumped on the floor with his back on the wall for so long after Cody left he lost track of time and fell asleep. The next thing he remembered was a shaking. His body was shaking and he heard his name far away.

"Randy! Wake up, Ran."

Randy slowly opened his eyes. Ted stood before him with a frown.

"Teddy, what's wrong? What time is it?"

Ted looked at his watch. "It's 4:15 am! Where the hell is Cody? He told me he was coming over here to talk to you at 3:00 and never came back to our room."

Randy rubbed his eyes and stood up with a groan. "He did. We talked but he left after like 15 minutes. I saw him walk out."

Ted shook his head. "Great. Where the hell could he have gone? It's not like this hotel has any activities for a rainy night."

Randy shrugged and walked over to the bathroom. "Did you check with John?"

"On my way there now!" said Ted as he walked out.

Randy looked at himself in the mirror, half expecting to see more writing. His eyes were sunken in and dark circles were already starting to form. He splashed cold water on his face and walked back out into the bedroom. Slipping on some sneakers he walked into the hotel floor hallway to John's room. He knocked once on the door before opening it to see John sitting on the bed and Ted pacing back and forth.

"Hey. Is Cody here?"

John looked at Randy with a concerned look on his face and shook his head.

Randy frowned. "I don't understand. He left my room and, I assumed, was heading back to Ted. There's no other place he could have gone."

Ted threw his hands up in the air. "He obviously didn't come back to our room! He's not here! Where the hell is he?" He looked at Randy. "What the hell was so important he had to talk to you about it at 3 am?"

Randy quickly looked towards John and away. "That's none of your concern. Let's just find Cody."

Ted shook his head and continued to pace back and forth. John stood up and put an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, Teddy. We'll find him. He has to be here somewhere. How about Randy and I just take a walk around the hotel? You stay in your room in case he come back."

Ted ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He nodded and walked past Randy out of the room.

"OK, let's start at the lobby and work our way back up. Good?"

Randy shrugged at John's statement. "Whatever."

John frowned. "What's wrong with you?"

"How about Randy and I just take a walk around the hotel?" mimicked Randy. He stopped walking and stared at John. "It's always John and Randy, Randy and John! I'm so sick of it."

John's mouth dropped and his eyes widened. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Randy shook his head and started to walk away only to be stopped by John grasping his arm. He quickly yanked it away and glared back at John.

"Don't touch me."

John crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. "So, we're back to this. I figured when you asked me if I wanted to ride with you to the next stop that you had gotten over whatever crawled up your ass for the past couple months. But I was wrong. You're back to the whole glaring, pissed off, "don't touch me", son of a bitch persona, who seems to have a problem with me lately for a reason I am not aware of." He turned and walked down the hall, yelling over his shoulder, "I don't have time for it, Ran. Go do whatever the hell you want."

Randy glared at John's retreating back and angrily punched the wall next to him. "I will! Because contrary to popular belief, there is no Randy and John. Randy doesn't need John for shit!"

He shook his now numb hand and began to walk in the opposite direction of John. He had only gotten a few feet away when an ear piercing scream rang out through the entire inn. Randy stopped in his tracks and swerved around before running over towards the direction John had walked in.

"John!"

He ran down a flight of stairs and nearly crashed into John who had been running up. "What was that!"

Randy shook his head. "A scream, dumbass."

"Who was it?"

As Randy opened his mouth to answer, another scream rang out from above their heads. John grabbed Randy's hand and pulled him towards the sound. The two men ran as fast as they could to their floor. They desperately searched for the source of the scream but everything was quiet and there was no one in the hall.

"It's quiet here. No one is screaming." John whispered

"Yeah, I know, but it's too quiet. This kind of quiet usually means something is going on." Randy replied. He tried to walk towards his room but noticed John was still holding on to his hand. He pulled it away roughly and walked away.

"Damn. You could have just asked me to let go."

Randy looked over at John and instantly felt guilty. "Sorry."

John shrugged slightly, a small smile forming on his face. "It's OK, but you know I don't have the coodies or anything."

Randy nodded and began walking up the silent hallway looking for the source of the scream. He noticed the door to Ted & Cody's room was open and he walked in.

"Didn't we tell Ted to stay put? He's not here."

John looked over Randy's shoulder. "This isn't good. I think we need to go down and find that Rose lady. She's needs to know what's going on in this place."

Randy nodded and moved away from John further into the room.

"Randy, really? Seriously, do I smell or what? Tell me something. Anything. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Randy stared at John and shook his head. He had no idea what to do. His mind was racing and his heart was pounding. "John, I..."

Just as he was about to continue, Ted ran in the room and threw his hands up in the air.

"Where the hell have you two been? I couldn't wait anymore and went to look for Cody but then all hell broke loose with someone screaming. I can't find that Rose lady and there seems to be no one but us in this hell hole so who could it be but Cody?"

John and Randy looked up at Ted and then at each other. They both groaned inwardly.

"We need to calm down. I think it's time to call the cops. With all that's going on, Cody would have shown up already. Something is wrong."

Ted looked at Randy and nodded. He walked over to his luggage and picked out his cell phone. "No service."

John sighed. "I'll go get mine."

"Me, too." Randy patted Ted's back before following John out to their bedrooms.

As they approached Randy's door they heard a banging on the walls and the sound of furniture being moved around inside. The scariest noise was the one of a man moaning and groaning in pain. The friends looked at each other and desperately tried to open the door.

"What the hell is going on? This is my room and I'm not in it." Just as Randy spoke all noise stopped in the bedroom. He swung open the door slowly and took a deep breath before slowly walking in with John right behind him. He felt around the wall for a light switch and felt his fingers close around it. He flicked it on and gasped when the light illuminated the room. The far wall of the room was covered in a red substance which looked very much like blood. It had written in it the same warning that had been left in Randy's mirror; "Get Out". The bed was destroyed and the television lay on its side on the floor.

"Oh my God! What the hell happened here?" asked John slowly walking around the room. He walked over to the wall with the writing and reached out.

"John, don't touch that. That could be blood." Randy said.

John grimaced and moved away from it quickly.

"There was someone here. I heard it" asked Randy. He ran to check the bathroom and came back into the room to find John also looking under all the debris. There was no one in the room.

"OK, this is it. The last thing I'm going to do is spend another minute in this place. I'm calling the cops right now and getting everyone out of here. Randy, find your phone but I don't think you should touch anything else. I'll go to my room and get my phone."

John ran into his room and walked cautiously towards his dresser where he had his cell phone. He grabbed it quickly, but slammed it back down when he saw the screen flashing 'No Signal'. He knew Randy and Ted would automatically assume he would be the leader and take charge of the situation. It wasn't something he chose to be, though. The entire WWE had him appointed leader and he hated it. He barely knew where he was going half the time and having tons more people dependent on him was too much.

"Damn it."

"John."

He turned to see Randy standing there with his phone in his hand.

"What?"

"My phone still doesn't work. What are we gonna do now?"

John threw up his hands in frustration. "How the hell should I know? Why do you guys always rely on me for everything? I don't know what to do."

Randy shrugged. "I don't know. You have this great aura around you. You seem to be in control all the time and you never get stressed out. We depend on that and we've grown accustomed to it."

John laughed sarcastically. "Wow, then I truly am an amazing actor because that is not how I am at all. I can't believe you guys buy that act. You especially, Ran. We're best friends! You should know me better than anyone. Maybe we aren't as close as I thought."

Randy sighed and moved towards John. He put his hand on his shoulder slowly and bent his head before whispering, "Don't say that. We are close. The closeness we share was the reason my marriage broke up and the closeness I seem to want right now may be the reason our friendship breaks up."

John stared at him with wide eyes. "What?"

Randy lifted his head and looked at him dead in the eye. "Come on. You know what I mean."

John slowly nodded and leaned forward slowly. His lips landed gently on Randy's and they turned into each others arms. John slowly deepened the kiss and smiled into Randy's mouth when he felt him sigh contently and give himself fully. He felt Randy's hand travel up his back and work itself into his hair. Suddenly, though, he pulled away.

"Wait a minute. This feels wrong. Cody is still missing."

John sighed and nodded. "I know, I just got caught up in the moment."

Randy smiled slightly. "I'm easy to get caught up in. I mean, look at me."

John's eyes widened. "Wow, your love for yourself never ceases to amaze me."

Randy laughed and took John's hand. "At least we have something to look forward to when we get out of here. Hopefully that kiss was a start to something."

John leaned forward and placed another kiss to Randy's lips before leaning his forehead against Randy's. "It was. I've been waiting for it for awhile now. I just hope we do get out of here."

Randy closed his eyes and leaned into John's embrace. "Me, too."

"If you'll excuse me..."

Randy and John broke apart at the sound of Ted's voice.

Ted stared at the two men in disbelief. "What are you two doing?"

"Teddy, we were checking our phones and..." John started to move towards Ted, sensing his anger.

"You were not! You two were hooking up while Cody is God knows where! I can't believe you two!"

Randy walked over to the two men. "Teddy, we're sorry. We were checking our phones but then started to talk about some things and that's the moment you chose to walk in on. We haven't forgotten Cody."

He put his arm on Ted's shoulder only to have it pushed away angrily.

"Yeah, I'm sure he was on your mind when you two were making out like the selfish bastards you are!

Ted walked towards the door and said, "I'll find Cody on my own. You two can go to hell."

John stalked over to Ted and pulled him back in the room. "Are you listening to yourself? You're acting like a moron. Don't get pissed off at us about this. You know we love Cody, too and are going crazy not knowing where he is! How dare you insinuate anything else?"

Randy got in between the two men and pushed them aside. "All right, enough of this shit. There is no splitting up. Ted, you can be as pissed off as you want with me and John but we have to stick together. We don't know what the hell is going on in this place. Our mission is to find Cody and get the hell out, safe and sound. We can't do that if we separate."

After a momentary staredown both Ted and John nodded. Ted walked out of the room leading the group down the stairs with Randy and John bringing up the rear. Randy looked down and smiled when he felt John reach down and squeeze his hand softly.

"Look who became the leader all of the sudden. It's very sexy." John whispered with a wink.

Randy smiled, but stopped short when he heard a footstep behind him. He turned around quickly and came face to face with Angel, who threw himself in Randy's arms.

"Angel! What are you doing walking around at this time? Are you OK?"

Angel shook his head and bought his fingers to his mouth. He bit his nails frantically and kept shaking his head. "No, no. I can't talk to you. She'll take me."

Randy took Angel's hands into his own. He pulled them away from his mouth and hugged him tightly. "No one is going to take you anywhere. Do you understand? You're safe here with me and my friends."

Angel pulled out of Randy's embrace and stared at him. He looked up and John and Ted.

"I remember him but who's he?" he asked while pointing to Ted.

"This is Teddy. He's another friend. Teddy, this is Angel, Rose's grandson."

Angel smiled and took Randy's hand. "He's sad."

Randy nodded. "He lost his best friend, Cody. We were looking for him around the inn. Have you seen anyone else around?"

Angel looked down at the floor sadly and nodded. "I'm sorry, Randy. He's gone."

"How do you know that?" asked Randy softly.

"She took him with my parents. They're gone."

John and Ted looked at each other and frowned.

"Where are your parents, Angel?" Ted asked.

"In heaven." Angel pointed to the ceiling.

"Oh God." whispered Ted. He took a deep breath and tried to comprehend the little boy's words. This was definitely turning out to be the worst night of their lives. If they made it out alive then it would make a great chapter on one of those corny TV shows like 'Behind the Music' or 'The E True Hollywood Story'. He just wanted out, though. He wanted to pinch himself and wake up. He wanted to find out this place never existed. It seemed so surreal. Just a few hours earlier he and Cody were driving along the highway when John called. This unexpected stop that seemed would change their lives forever. His beloved Cody, who would never hurt a fly and would help a stranger at a moment's notice, didn't bat an eye when John asked them to make this stop. Now, he was gone. Maybe gone from his life forever.

"No! I won't accept this until I see a body! Now, the screams were coming from our floor. That's where I'm going."

He turned and ran back to the 5th floor. He heard everyone following him and it gave him the courage to open the first bedroom door and turn on the light. It was Randy's room. When he saw shape it was in he gasped and looked back at his friends.

"My God, Ran! What happened here?"

Randy, who had picked up Angel, shrugged. "It was like this when I came to find my phone. John and I were outside the door and heard some noises, but when we got in the room was a mess, but there was no one here."

Ted walked over to the wall with the red substance. "God, could this be blood? Could this be Cody's?" His eyes began to water and a few tears escaped down his face.

John immediately walked over and wrapped Ted in a hug. "Don't think like that, Teddy. We can't give up. We'll find Cody."

Angel wriggled in Randy's arm until he was set down. He pointed to the ceiling and said, "He's in heaven. It's up there. We can't go there. She said it's only for the dead."

"Who is 'she', Angel? Is it your Grandma Rose?" John asked.

Angel nodded. "She's mean. She won't let me go to see my mommy and daddy."

Randy looked at John with a desperate look in his eyes. "We have to call the cops somehow. There's gotta be a phone here somewhere."

John nodded and gently let Ted go. "The lobby. Or in her office behind the check in desk. I'll go find it."

Randy shook his head furiously. "No way. I'm not letting you wander around this hotel alone. Especially with psycho grandma on the loose."

"It's OK. Grandma is in heaven, too. It takes her a long time to fix them. They have to be perfect for heaven." Angel said loudly while looking at the ceiling.

Everyone frowned and looked at each other.

"How could Rose be in heaven, too, Angel? That would mean she's dead. If she's dead then she couldn't have hurt my friend and we wouldn't have seen her earlier." Randy said.

Angel smiled and shook his head. "She's not dead, silly. She fixes them and takes them up there."

Ted wiped his eyes and shook his head. "I don't understand this. Do any of you?" He bent down to Angel. "Please, kiddo. If you know where Cody is, tell me."

Angel nervously looked up to the ceiling and began to bite his nails. Randy saw his mood change and immediately picked up the child.

"Angel, it's OK. You can tell us anything and I swear to you I will not let her hurt you." Randy shifted Angel to his left side and smiled at him. "Do you know I have a little girl? Her name is Alanna and when we get out of here, I'm going straight to see her. Maybe you can come with me."

Angel smiled and nodded. "I would like that."

"Good. So, can you tell me some more of this heaven you're talking about. Is it like in the sky or closer to us?"

Angel shook his head and worked his way out of Randy's arms. "Don't be silly. Heaven is right there in that floor."

"Like in the attic?" John asked

Angel nodded. "Yup!"

Ted's mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding me?"

Everyone turned to look at each other. All their faces wore the same look of shock and confusion. Everyone except Angel, that is.

"This situation is getting too bizarre to handle." mumbled John.

Ted walked over to where Angel stood. "Kiddo, we need your help. You say your grandma Rose took our friend to heaven. We need to go get him and save him. Can you show us how to get there?"

Angel's eyes opened wide and he shook his head. He ran to the door. "No! You're all gonna leave me, too! I won't show you! She'll take you!"

Randy ran after him and stopped him from running into the corridor. "Angel, stop! I promised you that I would take care of you and I meant it. I won't leave you. You're safe with me. Nothing is ever going to hurt you again."

Angel stared at him for a long time and then gave him a tight hug. "If I take you there she'll be mad. She's gonna scream at you like she does to me. Do you still wanna go?"

Randy smiled. He took the little boy's hand and responded, "Yes, I have to. I need to help my friend. It's OK if she screams. I'll protect you."

Angel nodded and led them out of the room. They all walked silently towards the stairs and then climbed up two flights onto a floor which looked identical to theirs. Angel led them to the end of the room to a wall with a huge bookshelf. He stopped and turned to look at Randy.

"This is the door. Heaven is here."

Randy nodded and looked at John and Ted. He sat Angel on the floor away from the bookshelf and said, "We have to move the shelf, I guess."

Everyone moved to grab an end and they all started to pull. The shelf seemed super-glued to the wall. It refused to budge no matter how hard they pulled.

"It won't move! What the hell do we have to do to get in here?" Ted said dejectedly.

John sighed and slumped to the floor. He ran his fingers through his short hair and closed his eyes.

"This is hopeless! We're stuck in this weird place with no hope of getting any outside help from the police and we can't just run out of the door! I know we can't leave Cody but this is getting ridiculous! What the hell do we have to do to get some help?"

"Guys, I know it feels hopeless but we have to keep trying." Ted replied. He reached over to the shelf and grabbed an edge, continuing to pull. .

Randy bent down beside John and kissed his forehead. "John-John, please don't give up on me. I'm only being strong because you're here with me. We can't give up now. We're gonna get out of here. We have to think of everything that's in store for us now that we admitted the truth."

John looked up at him and smiled before standing up.

"Is this 'truth' we're talking about the truth about you two? Did you two finally admit your feelings for each other?" interrupted Ted.

Randy looked up at Ted. "That's kind of what you walked in on earlier."

"I am happy for you two but until I get my better half back, I don't want to discuss it." Ted smiled quickly before turning his attention back on opening the door.

"Angel, are you sure there's no other way in here?" John asked feeling exhausted.

"I think you move the book." Angel replied pointing to a large green book on the far left shelf.

John frowned and pulled the book out of the shelf. The entire bookshelf slowly began to move back and opened to reveal a large, dark looming staircase leading higher up to another floor.

* * *

In the severe blackness of the room, Cody's eyes shot open. He tried to move but every part of his body ached. He groaned loudly and fought the pain. His hair was stuck to his forehead and when he reached his hand up to touch his head, it came back down wet with a substance he could only imagine to be blood. He managed to sit up and tried to spot a light somewhere in the room. After rapidly searching, he spotted a flicker in a far corner of the room. He stood up slowly and tried to walk over to it. There seemed to be two bodies sitting together.

He approached slowly and noticed it was a man and a woman who appeared to be unconscious. Cody gently reached over to the woman and touched her shoulder. She moved and moaned in pain.

"Oh my God! Who are you?"

The figure moaned again and mumbled something.

Cody bent closer and tried to hear. "I'm sorry. I can't hear you."

"My name is Lily. Please, help me."

Cody nodded. "Of course. Do you know where we are? How to get out?"

"Yes. Please help me move my husband."

Cody only nodded slowly. Despite his pounding head he picked up the man and tried to move him towards another light at the end of the room. When they reached the area, Cody was able to see they were in an attic. He laid the man down gently on the floor and looked him over. He had a massive gash on his head but the bleeding had stopped. Lily moved over to him and stroked his head. She looked at Cody with tears in her eyes.

"This is my husband, Mark."

"I'm Cody."

Lily shook her head. "What are you doing here? What did you do to her that she did this to you, too?"

Cody sat beside her. "Who? I have no idea where I am right now." He sighed and again wiped the blood coming from his head. "I was walking back to my bedroom and I felt someone hit me. Next thing I know, I wake up here."

Lily began to cry softly and shook her head. "It was my mother, Rose. She's crazy. She's never done this to a guest, though. What did you do to set her off?"

Cody's eyes widened. "Rose? The check in lady? No. Whoever hit me was too strong. It couldn't of been her."

Lily looked down and wiped her eyes. "Yes, it was. She's had me and Mark up here for months now. She has someone helping her."

"Are you telling me Rose is your mother and she has you and your husband up here in this attic on purpose?" Cody stood up and looked around the room. The few light bulbs flickering on and off were the only source of light. He could see no windows or door.

Lily began to cry again. "I haven't seen my son. I don't know what she's done with him. My husband hasn't woken up for so long now. I'm so scared."

Cody bent down and gave her a hug. "I'm not alone in this place, Lily. My friends have to have noticed I'm missing already. They won't stop until they find me and when they do, they'll help you, too. I won't leave you here."

Lily nodded and turned her attention back to Mark. Cody stood and said, "I'm just gonna take a look around and see what I find. I'll stay in sight."

* * *

Randy looked at the door as it began to move.

"You guys stay with Angel. I'm going in."

John grabbed his arm. "What part of no don't you understand? We're sticking together."

"I'm not taking this kid in there, John"

John sighed and looked at Ted.

"You guys go. I'll stay here." Ted grabbed Randy's hand tightly. "Find him, Ran."

Randy nodded led the way up the stairs. He felt John behind him and continued the climb up until the reached another door.

"Great." John moved in front of Randy and pushed the door. He was surprised when it moved forward easily. The door opened to reveal a dark room but John could see some light flickering in the distance.

"Stay close to me."

Randy whispered, "No problem."

The pair walked further into the room towards the light.

"You hear that? Sounds like footsteps." Randy whispered. John looked over his shoulder and saw nothing but black.

"Let's keep moving."

Suddenly, John cried out in pain. A sharp kick to his kneecap had made him go down hard.

"John! What..." Randy cried out in pain as a kick connected to his shin. He growled in anger and reached for the source until he felt his hand grab someone.

"Who the hell are you!"

Cody stopped his swinging when he heard the voice. "Randy?"

He felt the grip on his arm loosen.

"Cody?"

Cody sighed in relief and pulled Randy into a hug before dragging him closer towards the light. When he saw his best friend's face illuminated, he felt his eyes water in relief. "Thank God! Are you OK? Where's Teddy?

Randy's eyes immediately went up to the gash in Cody's head. "He's fine. Holy shit, Codes, you're losing blood like crazy." He ripped off the bottom of his shirt and wrapped it around Cody's head like a bandana. "John, you're OK, babe?"

John limped over to the two friends. "I may never walk again but if Cody is OK, then I'm fine."

"Sorry, John-John. Thought you were someone else." Cody smiled sheepishly before widening his eyes. "Wait, did you just call him babe?"

Randy shook his head. "We'll talk later. Let's get out of here." He put his arm around Cody and began to lead him towards the door.

Cody shook his head. "No, wait. There are 2 more people here." He pulled Randy over to where Lily was still laying next to Mark.

"Oh my God. Who are they?" John moved over to Lily, who immediately shrunk back at the sight of these 2 strangers.

"Lily, it's OK. These are my friends. We're gonna get you out of here." Cody bent and gave his hand to Lily. John moved over and lifted Mark on his feet.

Randy supported Cody on one arm and Lily on his other while John took care of getting Mark out. Every step they took got them one step closer to freedom but each step was filled with dread they wouldn't be able to make it out. When they finally reached the door and pushed it open, it seemed, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

Ted was sitting on the first step with a now sleeping Angel on his lap. The waiting was driving him crazy.

"Teddy."

Ted flipped around and saw Randy working his way down with Cody holding on to his right arm. Ted gently laid Angel on the floor and ran up the stairs to pull Cody to him. He felt tears come to his eyes as he squeezed Cody tightly. After a few minutes he pulled back and took a look at Cody. His head was covered something that was soaked with blood. His shirt was torn and he was barefoot. Despite it all, he was the most beautiful thing Ted had every seen.

"My God, Cody. Who did this to you?

Randy walked the rest of the stairs down with Lily gripping him tightly. She let go of him and ran to the sleeping child on the floor.

"Angel! Thank God!"

Randy followed her down and bent next to Angel protectively. "You're his mother, aren't you?"

Lily nodded as she placed a kiss on Angel's head. He stirred and slowly opened his eyes. A huge smile broke on his face as he stared at his mother's face.

"Mommy!"

Randy smiled as Lily pulled the child into her arms. He heard a throat clear behind him and saw John gently place Mark on the ground.

"He's in bad shape. Still breathing but completely out of it. We need to get him and Cody help right now."

Randy nodded. "We need to get to the cars outside. Let's go."

Lily picked up Angel and Randy took her arm. John again took Mark in his arms and led him forward while Ted carefully held Cody.

"How did this happen? Cody, do you remember anything."

Cody looked at Ted and shrugged. "I was walking back my room. I had just left Randy's room. I was almost at the door when something must of hit my head. I remember the pain and then nothing. When I woke up, I was in that attic. I saw some lights flickering and walked towards them. Lily and Mark were there."

Lily looked back at Cody and smiled. "He promised me he would get me out and he did."

The group continued walking. John looked at Lily and asked, "Lily, if you don't mind my asking, what were you and your husband doing up there?"

Lily's eyes instantly watered. "We've been up there for almost 2 years. My mother is Rose. She took my son and locked my husband and I up there. Everyone thinks we died."

The four men gasped and looked at each other.

"How is that possible? How did no one notice that?" asked Randy in disbelief.

Lily shook her head. "This inn used to be beautiful. My parents ran it and it was a successful family business. When my father died, my mother went crazy. Mark and I moved back from Texas to help her but she was beyond help."

She took a deep breath. "My father had sensed that my mother had changed. She didn't seem to care about the inn anymore. Or him. He suspected an affair. Without her knowing, he changed his will and left me the inn and the money his family had inherited him. When she found out, she went berserk. She locked us in that attic and told everyone we died. Whenever we made noise to attract guests, she would come up and hurt us. Sometimes the lights were shut off completely and I could hear other steps in the room. It would take a lot to overpower Mark so I always figured she had help but I dont know from who."

She stroked Angel's hair. "Angel knew where we were but she made sure he spoke to no one. This place got so rundown and started getting fewer and fewer guests so the odds of him seeing anyone was slim."

The group made it to the hotel lobby without incident. Lily moved to sit on the sofa, clutching her son tightly. John laid Mark next to her and stood beside Randy, Ted and Cody.

"I'm gonna go start the car." Ted kissed Cody gently and sat him down beside Lily. He ran out the inn door. In seconds he ran back in with a look of disbelief.

"Our tires have all been sliced!"

Randy and John shook their heads.

"There has to be a phone around here somewhere." John looked towards the office door. "Like in there."

John moved towards the office door with Randy on his heels. As they approached the door it spun open to reveal Rose standing there with a gun raised at their heads.

Rose raised her head and laughed maniacally. She slowly walked towards them until she stood inches away from John's face with the gun. "You! You irritating boys! You have been nothing but trouble for me since the moment you darkened my door! I should blow your heads right off."

John felt himself being yanked away from her and stumbled to the floor, still weak from Cody's kicks to his knees.

"Back the hell up, lady! You're the nut job that's held your daughter and her husband hostage here! Just so you can get their money. You took an innocent child away from his parents! How do you have the nerve to sit here and accuse us of being trouble?" yelled Randy. He stood right in front of Rose and glared at her.

"Watch it, kid. You best sit down and let me take care of my business."

Randy turned and pointed to John, who had stood up and grasped his arm. "You see him? He's my business and I will not let you put a gun to his face."

Rose laughed loudly. Just as quickly as she began to laugh, she quickly stopped and lowered the gun to John's leg. Before anyone could react she pulled the trigger and a bullet soared into John's left leg. He screamed in pain and slumped to floor.

Lily grabbed Angel to her chest and screamed as Ted ran to John's aid. Randy lunged at Rose and the two started battling each other for possession of the gun setting off more bullets into the air as the fight intensified.

"Randy, don't!" yelled Cody from where he sat clutching Lily.

"Randy, please!" John grabbed his leg and pleaded from the floor.

Randy and Rose continued fighting and landed on the floor just as another loud shot rang out.

**A/N: I love cliffhangers, LOL! Review to find out what happened...**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Here's the next one! **

"Randy!"

Cody jumped up from the sofa and ran to his best friend, who lay unconscious on the floor with blood soaking his t-shirt.

"Let go of me, Ted!" John shoved Ted and tried to crawl over to where Randy lay, but was held back.

"No, John, stay put. You're bleeding like crazy here." Ted frantically looked over at where Cody had shoved Rose off of Randy's body.

Cody put his hand over Randy's chest and felt for a heartbeat. "Randy, please be OK." He felt Randy's chest rise and fall with his breaths.

"Ted, let me go!" John angrily shoved Ted with all the strength he had left and crawled over to Randy.

"Baby, wake up. Come on, open those beautiful eyes for me." John shook Randy's shoulder and placed his head in the crook of his neck. Tears came to his eyes and it had nothing to do with the pain in his leg.

Suddenly, Randy groaned and moved his face towards John. "Oww. My head hurts."

John lifted his head and held Randy's face between his hands. "Oh my God, you're OK." He placed a kiss on Randy's forehead.

"Is she dead?" asked Randy. He looked at all the blood on his shirt and raised it carefully. There was no wound on him. "This isn't my blood."

Ted moved over to where Rose lay. Her chest was moving up and down slowly. Randy breathed a quick sigh of relief. Despite how horrible Rose had been to them, he never wanted to hurt her. He looked down at John who was grabbing his leg and grimacing in pain.

"Baby, hang in there, OK. We need to get out of here."

Cody helped Randy stand up despite the dizziness he felt from his head injury as Ted moved over to John and wrapped his shirt over the wound on his leg.

"I'm gonna go call the cops." said Ted. He ran into the office and straight to the phone. Giving a silent prayer of thanks as the dial tone greeted his ear he immediately dialed 911 and told the operator the situation. He walked back into the lobby.

"OK, cops are on their way. Let's get out of here."

Cody nodded. "Gladly." He stood up and moved to help Lily and Angel out of the inn.

Ted grabbed Mark, who had not regained consciousness, and began to walk him out the door. "You two stay put. I'll be right back."

Randy shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I can help John." He stood up only to be hit with a wave of nausea. "Or, I'll just stay put." He sat back down and laid his head on John's shoulder.

Ted smiled and walked out of the door with Mark. He laid him on the grass beside Lily and gave Cody a smile before running back into the inn to help Randy and John.

"Welcome back!"

Rose stood in the lobby of the inn holding a huge can of gasoline and a box of matches. She looked over at Randy and John still on the sofa and at Ted in the doorway. She began to laugh maniacally as she spread the gas around her.

"Rose, don't do this..." Randy stood up slowly and began to move towards her. John grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Don't come any closer!" Rose lit a match and held it before her eyes. "This is not over." She dropped the match on the floor and flames immediately engulfed the space around them.

Ted ran into the flames. "Randy, John, we gotta get out of here!"

The room was already filling up we smoke but he could make out the bodies of his friends. Randy pushed past his pain and grabbed John, dragging him towards Ted and the door.

Outside, Lily and Angel began to scream when the saw the flames in the inn. Cody's eyes opened in fear and he immediately ran towards the door. He gave a sigh of relief when he saw Ted walking out with a weak looking Randy and John behind him. He helped Randy pull John out and away from the burning structure. Suddenly, all the windows from the attic burst and smoke started pouring out.

"We need to move as far back from this place as possible!" Ted screamed.

As they were moving back, five police cars pulled up with their sirens blaring along with three ambulances and fire trucks.

An officer jumped out of the car followed by a load of firemen. "Everyone stay back! No one goes in there except officials."

"There's still a lady in there!" said Ted.

"It's OK, sir. We'll find her. We need to get you all help." The officer led the group away from the fire and towards the emergency vehicles.

Suddenly a large explosion made the street tremble and chaos ensue. Firemen raced to the building in a desperate search for survivors or injured and officers busied themselves with moving the friends back from the heat and into ambulances.

"This is so unreal." mumbled Cody looking up at the flames shooting from the windows.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Randy lay in his hospital bed staring out the window. He and Cody had been diagnosed with concussions and had to stay overnight. The town's local medical center was small, but well equipped. They had managed to save John's leg and Randy was anxiously awaiting his return from surgery. From the window he could still see smoke rising in the distance from the remains of the Rose Inn. Everyone said to be in the inn was found safe and sound except for Rose. The officers and firemen concluded that her body was burned too badly and it may show up later in the rubble or it may not, but one thing was certain; she could not have survived that fire. As he lay there lost in his thoughts he heard wheels behind him. John was rolled in a gurney and transferred over to the bed besides Randy. Randy waited until the nurses left and got out of his bed gingerly. He sat beside John and softly stroked his face.

"Hey, baby. You with me?"

John nodded and opened his eyes. "I think I am. I have so many meds flowing through me I don't know what's happening."

Randy smiled. "You're out of surgery and you're gonna be fine. Teddy is fine. Cody has a concussion and Ted is staying with him. Lily is fine, despite all she went through, and Angel is absolutely perfect. Mark is the only one still in question, but he's going to be transferred to another hospital tomorrow. He'll get the best care."

John nodded and took Randy's hand in his own. "And how is the most important person to me?"

"Fine. A concussion isn't going to take me down. Not now when I have so much to live for."

John laughed. "Just think. We actually have Rose to thank for it, too."

Randy frowned. "I wish they would find her body. I'd feel a little better."

"It's OK, Ran. She has to be dead. She can't hurt anyone anymore. Thankfully the property was insured so Lily and Mark can start their lives over with the money." said John

Randy smiled. "I'm gonna miss Angel. He reminded me of Alanna. I can't wait to get home and see her. We'll help them set up somewhere close to us."

John nodded and pulled Randy in close for a kiss. Randy crawled into John's bed and laid his head beside John's. The pair pulled each other close and fell into a restful sleep.

* * *

**3 months later**

"All right, babe. I'll see you in a couple of minutes. Bye." Randy hung up the phone and continued his drive to the local Subway sandwich shop.

Over the last few months, the 4 friends had dealt with the aftermath of their night at the inn. The press had been hounding them for an exclusive, but they chose to ignore every offer. They all returned to their homes and families and resumed their normal lives. The trauma of the event was just starting to fade and they were relying on each other to move on. The first month was the hardest but Vince had given them all the time off they needed. They kept themselves busy by helping Lily, Mark and Angel set up a home near Randy's home in St. Louis. Mark had made a miraculous recovery with the help from the doctors in a NY hospital.

Randy looked in on them often and Angel was quickly becoming Alanna's best friend. Randy smiled when he saw Subway up ahead and quickly thought of John at home eagerly awaiting his sandwich. He and John were taking their time with their relationship. They still had their own homes, but were contemplating taking the first step to moving in together. Randy was trying to get his daughter accustomed to the new living arrangements before any decisions were made. She was still reeling from her parent's divorce and it wouldn't help to see Uncle John had now become daddy's boyfriend. John and he spent many nights together, though, when Alanna was with Sam. Sam had given them her blessing and things were going great in their friendship. Randy got out of the car, pulled his hat lower on his head and walked into the store to order. As he waited, he remembered John's and his first night together. They were both so nervous but anxious to be together. They both took their time and made it a very romantic night. When his order was ready he quickly paid and got back in his car. In minutes, he was pulling into the driveway of his house.

"Honey, I'm home!" he yelled with a smile.

He heard footstep running towards him.

"I'm so glad! I missed you!" said Cody giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Yuck. What are you doing here? Where's my real honey?" replied Randy, wiping his face.

Cody laughed and pointed to the living room. "In there. We're gonna watch an all-night horror movie marathon. I think after 3 months we can watch scary stuff again. Teddy and I bought pizza and burgers, but John wants something you're bringing him." He stopped talking and raised his eyebrow. "Wait a minute. That's not some kind of metaphor for sex is it?"

Randy shook his head and held up the Subway bag. "Dude. I bought him a sandwich."

Cody laughed and said, "Oh!" He walked back into the living room and threw himself beside Ted before planting a kiss on his lips.

"Baby, I love you but you're squeezing the life out of me." mumbled Ted with a mouth full of cheeseburger.

John entered the kitchen and gave Randy a huge hug and kiss. He grabbed his sandwich and hugged it tightly. "Thank you so much, Ran. I love this sandwich!"

Randy smiled and served himself a slice of pizza.

"No prob, love. I'll do anything for you."

John smiled his gorgeous smile and pulled Randy in for a deep kiss. They embraced each other tightly and walked back to their friends. They sat in a lounge chair together and watched the movie along with their friends. It had been a while and they deserved it.

* * *

About 8 hours later and 3 movies later, Randy managed to crawl out from under John and stood up from the chair. He groaned and rubbed his back as he walked to the kitchen for a drink. He looked at his friends sprawled around asleep on his furniture and smiled. In the kitchen he looked out the window and saw that it was raining hard and very windy. The trees on his lawn looked ready to fall over and lightning was flashing in the sky.

It was a spooky night and when the phone in the kitchen rang loudly and he jumped.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Randy. I'm not gone yet!" replied a crackling voice.

Randy shook his head and looked at his caller id box. It read "Dave Lorenze- 312-555-4245".

"Let me guess. You're Rose and you're coming to finish me off." He yawned loudly, bored of the prank call that seemed to come nightly no matter how much he changed his phone number. "Get a life, Dave Lorenze because if you call my house again,I will find you and punt your head off your shoulders. Later."

He hung up the phone and shook his head. Some people were really just morons.

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews!**


End file.
